The CareerXroads Source of Hire Survey for 2012 surveyed mid- to large-sized companies hiring for $150k-$300k jobs. 36 competitive firms responded with 2,139 total jobs filled. The results suggest some interesting directions for executives in job search mode to go. Here is some of the data, followed by implications for your job search and other job search best practices.

41% of jobs are FILLED INTERNALLY: Think hard about internal promotion rather than leaving the company to meet your career objectives | It's a great way to get an edge over the competition.

Referrals - 28%of ALL EXTERNAL HIRES come from referrals | This is the highest percentage out of all external sources | Referrals have always been #1, but with significant numbers of those referrals coming from internal employee referrals, you would do well to leverage your offline and LinkedIn and other social media contacts to connect with employees of your target company.

Job Boards account for 20.1% of hires| This is surprising since job boards have largely been viewed as an unfruitful source for executive job seekers | Drill down and we find that 1/3rd to 1/2 of those surveyed say that POSTING jobs results in hires, not searching for resumes posted on the job board | So, DO spend a limited time each day looking through online job postings and DON'T post your resume | Best job boards by the numbers? Indeed.com, CareerBuilder.com, and Dice.com (technical job board).

Career Sites yield 9.7% of hires | So, add visits to your target companies' career pages and profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter | Don't forget to "like" your targeted company on their Facebook page (recruiters like that!).

Recruiter Initiated: 9.1% | Put time into building relationships with a few recruiters in your space and/or function - preferably before you need to look for a job | Consider selecting executive retained recruitment firms that are small-to-mid-sized where you may have a better chance of making a personal connection | Reach out to the individual recruiters through your LinkedIn connections or your LI groups | Submit your resume to recruiters online databases, either through an email blast or one by one.

Social Media: 3.5%| Although this number is relatively low, it doesn't reflect the INFLUENCE social media has on the large numbers of recruiters who use social media to vet a candidate they may indentify in other ways | > 80% of recruiters spend time on social media sites | In order of preference, they are LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest | Without fail get a great professional headshot and keyword-rich, 100% complete profile on LinkedIn | Consider regular tweets and retweets on Twitter and a professional profile on Facebook | Social media is part of the hiring landscape and its influence is only going to increase, not just in hiring but in overall personal and professional branding.

Other external sources of hire:Colleges 6.6% (must be for <$150k jobs - brings into question whether all the people polled restricted their answers to the $150-$300K range) | Rehires (4.3) | While we're on the subject, though, leverage your alma mater's alumni list and contact info, if you can get it, to network and get the word out - preferably to people in your industry and/or function, adjacent spaces and/or target companies | Do the same with association membership lists.

Stay tuned for the 2013 survey which we will bring you up to date on when it comes in - and good luck!